Filial Son Euthanizes Sick Mother, Given Suspended Sentence

May 16th of last year, Guangzhou City Fanyu District Shiji County local police received a report from Deng Mingjian, who claimed that his mother Li X died a natural death in their rented apartment, but the preliminary autopsy by the police showed that Li died of organophosphorus poisoning. Afterward, Deng Jianming confessed, that it was at his mother’s request that he purchased pesticide to help his mother commit “euthanasia”. After the crime, this case became a focus of attention for different sectors of society. 2012 May 30th, the People’s Court of Fanyu District made the first judgment on this “case of matricide”, sentencing Deng Mingjian to three years in prison for intentional homicide, suspended for four years. Photo [above] is of Deng Mingjian being taken to the court, 2012 May 30th.

After the crime, voices of sympathy arose from many people who were close to Deng Mingjian. First, it was his two older sisters and his younger brother who all said they understood [why he did this], and wrote a letter pleading for leniency in the sentencing of Deng Mingjian. Ten of his factory coworkers jointly signed a statement submitted to the Public Security Bureau, also in hopes of leniency. From his hometown of Jinzi village in Langzhong county of Sichuan province, dozens of his household friends and family collectively signed a request that Deng Mingjian be given a light sentence. This picture is of 2012 May 30th, of Deng Jianming receiving his sentence from the court for helping his mother with euthanasia.

This reporters learned that Deng Minjian is from a rural area of Sichuan, has two older sisters and a younger brother. Because the family is poor, his brother never found a spouse to get married until he was 30 and ultimately married into his wife’s family [as opposed to his wife marrying into his family]. His two sisters got married locally, their financial circumstances also not very good. In 1991, his mother had a sudden stroke, and half her body was paralyzed. His mother’s everyday treatment was mainly shouldered by Deng Mingjian and his family. In 1995, Deng Mingjian’s wife came to Panyu to work, but Deng Mingjian remained in his hometown to look after their child and both his parents. In 2000, his wife had surgery for a serious illness, which cost a lot of money, and along with their son’s school expenses, Deng Mingjian had to stop his long years of farming at home while simultaneously looking after his parents to also go to Guangzhou to work in order to earn more money to take care of the family. Throughout this period of time where they were out working, Deng Mingjian and his wife would mail 500 yuan back to their parents every month for living expenses and medical care. After entering vocational school, their son also needed 500 yuan per month. This picture is of Deng Mingjian’s wife Hua Suying in court, on 2012 May 30th.

Deng Mingjian’s brother testified that when his father was still alive, his mother often asked him and his father to buy pesticide to help her commit suicide. The village head said that after Deng’s mother had two strokes in 1991 and 1996, she once asked Deng’s father to help her up to go jump into a well [to commit suicide]. Another fellow-villager of Deng Mingjian’s also testified “Deng’s mother often said she wanted to die, even asked her son to buy poison for her to drink. Deng’s mother never said anything bad about Deng Mingjian, instead always saying that she felt sorry for him [for the burdens she placed upon him].” Deng Mingjian’s cousin said that 10 days before the crime, Deng Mingjian’s mother complained asking why the god wouldn’t accept her [let her die]. This picture is of Deng Mingjian is receiving his sentence.

2012 May 30th, after the sentencing, Deng Mingjian ended his year-long detention. He changed into the red T-shirt and white pants his wife had brought him and his previously terrified and wooden expression now turning a bit more tranquil. Holding his wife, he walked out of the crowd of people surrounding him. This picture is of Deng Mingjian after after changing into a red T-shirt being interviewed by the media outside the court.

This picture is of Deng Mingjian walking out of court after after changing into a red T-shirt, being interviewed by the media, 2012 May 30th.

This picture is of Deng Mingjian’s attorney Tang Chengkui expressing that he is extremely satisfied with the sentence result, which also met his expectations. “Strictly speaking, this case is not about euthanasia in a complete sense, as it was only due to Deng Mingjian’s limited knowledge and ignorance of the law that this tragedy happened.”

Can we say this isn’t his fault and is a tragedy caused by society? If the medical treatment expenses weren’t that expensive, would it be like this???

腾讯网友 Me＇mr.Up. ：

Frankly, for his mother, this is also a kind of liberation!! What can you say, sigh, China’s law is still imperfect. If we look at it from a humanistic perspective, he did this in order to ease his mother’s pain, and presumably his mother also felt she was a heavy burden on the family while alive, so if it was me, I too would be willing to die. Instead of living like this, it’d be better to die in order to lessen the burden for the entire family. But the law currently doesn’t allow doing this. If we look at it from the perspective of China’s current national conditions, if China’s law were to allow euthanasia, then many people would exploit loopholes in the law to commit crimes of murder. I express sympathy for Deng Mingjian, hope he can live happily, hope his mother in heaven can bless him with a life both safe and sound. The above are all personal opinions.

腾讯攀枝花市网友 己奴：

Very brave. What he had to bear was too much!!!

腾讯成都市网友 ﹎,懒骨頭 、：

If medical insurance can be improved, who’d want to drink pesticide? Do you really think it’s sweet?

腾讯成都市网友 123：

Who can afford to be in a hospital these days, with the medical expenses so high? If people don’t commit euthanasia, giving their money to the hospital, in the end it’s they end up losing both life and money. May I ask which impoverished person can afford to go to big hospitals? This isn’t his fault. As for who should bear responsibility for this, I trust everyone already knows.

腾讯网友 萧寒：

Won’t legalize “euthanasia”, and rather watch patients “live a life worse than death”, this policy is so…

腾讯德阳市网友 超越：

Reading this made me choked up! Those living on the lowest levels of society really have it hard. This too is a tragedy of not knowing basic laws!

腾讯四川省网友 爱是有晴天：

The sentence is reasonable, no grounds for blame/criticism. Meanwhile a heads-up for other people to know more about the law.

腾讯网友 寓言：

Us Sichuan people are all filial, thank you your honor for the lenient sentence. To say something from the bottom of my heart, his mother really was miserable, her body paralyzed, not even having the power to choose death for herself. You never got to see just how carefully uncle [Deng] looked after his mother. Sigh, a tragedy, really.

腾讯成都市网友 繁双鬓：

Our society doesn’t allow euthanasia! This is so that hospitals can squeeze patients’ bone dry, then stop treatment, throw them out of the hospital, and let patients die a slow death in extreme agony. How can they let common folks who can’t afford to stay in the hospitals have euthanasia? It’s the rules of our society! Of course the filial son should be sentenced.

These people haven’t experienced it, and don’t know a family members’ misery: My mother had osteocarcinoma [bone cancer], even dolantin injection wouldn’t sooth the pain. I begged everyone I met to recommend medicine for her… suffered for half a year, and when she was gone she was just skinny bones. My grandmother was over eighty, paralyzed, and died after drinking the poison she hoarded for two years. My other grandmother was over eighty, lied in bed for half a year, couldn’t find any poison, but still managed to kill herself by strangling herself with the bed sheets… Whereas my mother died of pain and hunger! My two grandmothers suffered to death! Can you say that keeping them alive is loving them? You watch their suffering and torment with your very own eyes. That’s why I always say that my heart aches for those who died from injuries in the Wenchuan Earthquake. What extreme agony they must have suffered before they died!

新浪江苏无锡471577330：

When living is worse than death, not allowing them to die is also cruel.

新浪江苏无锡471577330：

The poor don’t have the money for medical treatment nor the right to choose death.

新浪江苏南京手机用户：

The government is responsible too. In the city, even stray cats and dogs receive care and treatment. But for the elderly in rural areas, who cares about their pain and suffering?

新浪陕西西安手机用户：

When there is no cure and the patient is great pain, I support euthanasia.

新浪湖北武汉君上Boy：

Although its said bedridden parents make a son unfilial, him persevering for 20 long years is something we admire. We should ask ourselves how long we could endure if it were us. Too expensive to see a doctor, too difficult to see a doctor! I think this is also one of the reasons.

新浪辽宁沈阳yuanrts：

Looking after his paralyzed mother for 18 years, why would such a filial son in the end buy her mother pesticide for euthanasia? Shouldn’t a country that spends hundreds of billions each year on government vehicle expenses think about it really hard? If the financial costs of seeing a doctor weren’t that heavy, or there were rest/nursing homes everywhere that were affordable for the common people, would sons and daughters still do this?

新浪广东广州手机用户：

Instead of living in pain, why can’t someone choose euthanasia? I don’t understand. When all life has to offer is pain, why continue living to suffer?

新浪山西太原山牛：

I understand his mother. Fact is, nobody is afraid of death, but everybody is afraid of suffering, the law should permit euthanasia. Especially for those with cancer, when living becomes worse than death, it’s better off to die.

新浪四川成都手机用户：

Euthanasia should be carried out, to ease the pain of patients who can’t be cured. It is because I have seen such things in the hospital that I express such sentiments!!!